The ELECTRO HARMONIX MEL9 is a Tape Replay Delay pedal for electric guitars. After the highly successful B9, C9 and KEY9 pedals, the New Yorker’s effect Gurus of Electro Harmonix present the MEL9. A fourth effect pedal that turns the guitar in a vintage keyboard instrument. Here the MEL9 has countless recognisable sounds and analog polyphonic keyboard effects from the 1960s. These unique instruments may be referred to as the first sampler and attracted its unique charm and sound from the use of tapes for storing the sampled instruments.
The main features of The Electro Harmonix MEL9 Tape Replay Machine include:
High-quality built-in sounds. However, it should be noted that this pedal is very specific and requires the preparation of the instrumental signal. Therefore, in order to make it authentic to imitate the built-in sounds, you will have to work hard in preparing the signal: in terms of level, in frequency response and especially in attack and in attenuation. For some musical instruments in general, it will be difficult to achieve adequate and predictable MEL9 performance. Particularly noteworthy is the very incorrect work of the pedal directly with the instrumental piezoelectric transducers. Actually it can also be attributed to the entire line of Machine Electro Harmonix (KEY9, C9, B9). In any case, if you really need authentic sounds embedded in these pedals, then you can achieve their imitation, but not out of the box ... or you will be forced to put up with artifacts arising from the unbalanced instrumentality.
King Crimson and Genesis are available for reproduce at any time I like, this small white box sounds absolutely the same as it’s parent did on good old vinyls... Absolutely brilliant.